Engineering Science for BS

MBS3211
3. Electricity

A. Basic Concepts of Electricity

P.1
 1a) Six S.I. base units

Quantity Unit Unit symbol

Electric current ampere A
Mass kilogram kg
Length metre m
Time second s
Temperature kelvin K
Luminous intensity candela cd
Table 1
P.2
Some SI Electricity and Magnetism
derived units

Quantity Unit Unit symbol

Potential volts V
Power Watt W
Energy Joule or Watt hour J or Wh
Resistance Ohm Ω
Frequency Hertz Hz
Table 2 P.3
1b) Common Prefixes
Multiplying factor Prefix name Symbol
1012 tera T
109 giga G
106 mega M
103 kilo k
10-3 milli m
10-6 micro μ
10-9 nano n
10-12 pico p

Table 3 P.4
1c) Calculation
1 1
n G ex1.
2

2 1
 0.2m
G n 10k 10 k
1 1
 M 2  2  106
M  ex2. 
10k 10 103
1 1  2 EXP  6  10EXP3
m k 10
k m  2 10
1 1  0.2n
p T
T p P.5
 2a) Bohr Atom model
Nucleus with
Protons

Electron

Fig. 1

Protons : carries a positive charge

Electrons : carries a negative charge
Each atom has the same number of protons and electrons.
Therefore, an atom normally in neutral state. P.6
 Unit of Charge
• The unit of Charge, Q is called Coulomb (C)
• An electron and a proton have exactly same
amount of charge
• One coulomb of charge is equal to
approximately 625 x 1016 electron charge or,
one charge of an electron = -1.6 x 10-19C

P.7
2b) Electric forces and Electric Field
• Electric forces are created between all
electric charges.

Fig. 2
• Charge creates an electric field that creates
forces on other charges.

Fig. 3

P.8
2c) Charging in terms of Electron
Transfer

Free Electrons

When sufficient external energy is

applied, electrons are released from
its parent nucleus. They are referred
as 'Free electrons'.
P.9
 Free electrons & Positive ion
• Free Electrons: Carrying a negative charge. It
is free to move from one atom
to another.

• Positive ion: An unstable atom carrying a

positive charge due to one of
its electron is lost.
Electric charging occurs when the free electrons or
negative charge/ion is transferring in the circuit
under the electric force of the electric field.
P.10
 2d) Conductors and Insulators
Conductors:
1.Electrons are free to move from one atom to another.
2.When one part of a conductor loses electrons, it becomes
positively charged.
3.Free electrons will move from other regions to that part.
The flow of electrons causes a redistribution of charges.

Fig. 5

P.11
Insulators:
1. Electrons are firmly bound.
2. Electrons cannot move around in the object, they only
rotate in the atom.
3. Removal or addition of electrons at one end of an
insulator does not cause a flow of electrons.

P.12
2e) Current
• Electric current is measured as the rate at
which the charge is moved around a circuit.
• Since charge is measured in coulombs and
time in seconds then the unit for electric
current would be the coulomb/second. The
unit however is given a special name, the
ampere.
Q amps, or
I Q  It Coulomb
t
P.13
2f) Electromotive force (e.m.f.)
In order to cause the 'free' electrons to drift in a
given direction an electromotive force must be
applied.
Thus the emf is the 'driving' force in an
electrical circuit.
The symbol for emf is E and the unit of
measurement is the volt (V).

P.14
• Typical sources of emf are cells, batteries
and generators. The circuit diagram
symbols for a battery is shown in Fig. 6.
The amount of current that will flow
through a circuit is related to the size of the
emf applied to it.

Fig. 6 Battery symbol

P.15
 2g) Electric Potential or Voltage

• It represents the amount of electrical potential

energy a unit charge possess at any point in a
circuit.
• At Anode, the electric potential(voltage) of an
unit charge is the greatest. Almost = e.m.f of the
power supply.
• At Cathode, the potential(voltage) of an unit
charge is the smallest or = 0V
P.16
 electrical potential energy
Potential =
Charge
E
or V= ,
Q

Unit: volt, V and

1 V = 1 J C1 (Joule per coulomb)

P.17
 2h) Potential difference (p.d.)

The unit of p.d. is volt (V) and is measured as the

difference in voltage levels between two points in
a circuit. Although both p.d. and emf are
measured in volts, they are not the same quantity.
Essentially, emf (being the driving force) causes
current to flow; whilst a p.d. is the result of
current flowing through a circuit element. Thus
emf is a cause and p.d. is an effect.

P.18
Potential difference (p.d.)

P.19
 3a) Resistance (R)
• Resistance is the 'opposition' to the current
flow
• measured in ohms (Ω)
• Conductors have a low value of resistance
• Insulators have a very high resistance

P.20
 Resistor
• Substances, which offer certain amount of
resistance to the flow of electrons, are
called resistors
• The resistance of a resistor depends on the
material used, the physical construction of
the resistor and the temperature

P.21
 Resistor
• The resistance value can be determined by
the equation
l
R
A
R is the resistance of a resistor in ohm()
l is the length of the resistor in meter(m).
A is cross-sectional area of the resistor in (m2).
 is the resistivity of the material in (-m)
P.22
 Resistivity
Material  (-m) at 0o C
Aluminium 2.7x10-8
Brass 7.2x10-8
Copper 1.59x10-8
Carbon 6500.0x10-8
Zinc 5.57x10-8

Table 4 Typical values of resistivity

P.23
 3b) Ohm’s Law
• Ohm's law states that the p.d. developed
between the two ends of a resistor is
directly proportional to the value of current
flowing through it, provided that all other
factors (e.g. temperature) remain constant
VI

P.24
 Ohm’s Law
The proportional constant is the value of resistance of the
resistor.

V  IR
V
R
I
V
I Fig. 8
R

P.25
3c) Resistors in Series
V1 V2 V3

R1 R2 R3
I
Fig. 9

P.26
 Resistors in Series
• By Ohm's law
V1 = IR1 volts;
V2 = IR2 volts; and
V3 = IR3 volts
E = V1 + V2 + V3
E = I (R1 + R2 + R3)

P.27
 Resistors in Series
E = IReq and
Req = R1 + R2 + R3 ohm
where Req is the total circuit resistance

• when resistors are connected in series the

total resistance is found simply by adding
together the resistor values

P.28
3d) Voltage dividing rule for N resistors
connected in Series
If N resistors connected in series, the voltage across
each resistor is directly proportional to its resistance
value.
Since V1 = IR1
V2 = IR2

or

P.29
But V2 = E – V1,

We can find out the voltage across each resistors, if

we know their resistance and the supply voltage E.
P.30
3e) Resistors in Parallel
I1 R1

I2 R2

I3 R3

Fig. 10
E

P.31
Resistors in Parallel
By Ohm’s Law
• I1=E/ R1
• I2=E/ R2
• I3=E/ R3

• The total current of the circuit I is the sum

of I1, I2 and I3 , thus
I = I1 + I2 +I3
P.32
Resistors in Parallel
• The total resistance or the equivalent
resistance(Req) of the circuit is defined to be

E
I 
Req

P.33
 Resistors in Parallel
By substituting the above expression for the
currents, we have

Thus we found
1 1 1 1
(   )
Req R1 R2 R3 P.34
3f) Current Dividing rule for 2 resistors
connected in parallel
The current passing through each resistor is inversely
proportional to its resistance value.

Since Vab = E = I1R1

Vab = E = I2R2

But I2 = I – I1,

P.35
We can find out the current flow through the two
resistors, if we know their resistance and the main
current.
P.36
 4a) Power in a resistive circuit

• To calculate the amount of power that dissipated

in a circuit or component so to keep from
destroying the circuit components.
• To know the amount of power to supply.

• Power is equal to the current multiplied by the

voltage and the unit of power is watt (W)
P = IE
P.37
 Power in a resistive circuit
• By Ohm's law E=IR, the above equation can
be modify to be
P = I2R
• Power is equal to the current squared,
multiplied by the resistance.
• Use Ohm's law again, where I = E/R, we
have
P= E2/R
• Power is equal to the voltage squared,
divided by the resistance.
P.38
 Example 1
VAB VBC VCD
A B C D
RAB RBC RCD
I 2 5 3
Fig. 11

E=10V
P.39
 Example 1
VAB + VBC + VCD is exactly equal to the emf =10V

The total resistance of the circuit is 2+5+3 =10

By Ohm's law V = IR, the current I should be equal

to 1A

P.40
 Example 1
VAB = IRAB =1 x 2 = 2V.
VBC = I RBC =1 x 5 = 5V.
VCD = IRCD =1 x 3 = 3V.

Power dissipation in RAB = I2RAB = 12 x 2 = 2W.

Power dissipation in RBC = I2RBC = 12 x 5 = 5W.
Power dissipation in RCD = I2RCD = 12 x 3 = 3W.
Total power dissipated = 2+5+3 =10W

P.41
 Example 2
I1 R1 2

I2 R2 3

I3 R3 6

Fig. 12
E=6V P.42
 Example 2
The potential difference across each of the
three resistors is equal to the battery emf 6V

Apply Ohm's Law

E = I1 R1 ; I1= E/R1 = 6/2 = 3A
E = I2 R2 ; I2= E/R2 = 6/3 = 2A
E = I3 R3 ; I3= E/R3 = 6/6 = 1A

P.43
 Example 2
The total current I is equal to the sum of currents
I1+I2+I3 = 3+2+1 = 6A.
Power dissipation in R1 = I12R1 = 32 x 2 = 18W.
Power dissipation in R2 = I22R2 = 22 x 3 = 12W.
Power dissipation in R3 = I32R3 = 12 x 6= 6W.
Total power dissipated =18+12+6 = 36W

P.44
Capacitor and Capacitance

45
 Capacitance
1.Capacitor
The basic structure of a capacitor consists of
• two parallel metal plates
• separated by an insulating material
Metal
• connection wires Plate

Insulation
Fig. 13

Wir
e
46
 Capacitance
The insulation is also called the dielectric.
Common examples of dielectric used in a
capacitor are
– Air
– Ceramic
– Mica
In a circuit diagram a capacitor is represented
by the symbol Fig. 14
47
 Capacitance
A direct current (dc) voltage source is connected
to a capacitor with the polarity as shown.

Fig. 15

Electron flows from the negative terminal

towards the lower plate.
The lower plate becomes negatively charged

48
 Capacitance
Electrons are drawn from the
upper plate towards the
positive terminal.
The upper plate becomes
positively charges.
For an ideal dielectric no
electron can flow through it.
An electric field is established
between the two plates. Fig. 16

49
 Capacitance
The amount of electric
charge in the upper and
lower plates are equal.
When the switch is open,
the electrons are trapped
in the metal plates.
They cannot flow through
the dielectric or the Fig. 17
external circuit.

50
 Capacitance
The resistance of a practical dielectric is
very high but not infinite causing a
leakage current.
The electrons in the lower plate
gradually moves to the upper plate
through the dielectric.
Eventually the capacitor becomes +
completely discharged.
The discharge of the capacitor can be
activated by connecting the capacitor
to an external circuit as shown.

Fig. 18

51
 Capacitance
2. Capacitance
The charge Q accumulated in a capacitor is
related to the applied voltage by
Q  CV
where C is the capacitance in unit of farad (F)
and V is the voltage in volt.

52
 Capacitance
4. Type of Capacitors
Capacitors may be classified into
• Fixed capacitors: the capacitance is fixed
• Variable capacitors: the capacitance can be
varied over a range

53
 Capacitance
Fixed Capacitors
Types of common fixed capacitors are
(i) Ceramic 陶器電容
(ii) Mica 雲母電容
(iii) Film 薄膜電容
(iv) Electrolytic 電解質電容
(v) Surface mount 表面架置電容

54
 Capacitance
Variable Capacitors 電容
The capacitance of a
variable capacitor can be
varied over a small range.
The capacitor consists of a
set of fixed plates and a
set of movable plates
with air as the dielectric. Fixed Movabl
plates e
plate

55
 Capacitance
5. Capacitors connected in parallel
When two capacitors are connected in parallel as shown Fig. 9, the voltage
across the two capacitors are equal.

The charge in C1 is Q1 and in C2 is Q2.

The total charge stored in the 2 capacitors is QP  Q1  Q2

56
 Capacitance
The total capacitance of 2 capacitors connected
in parallel is equal to the sum of the
capacitance of the 2 capacitors.
QP
QP  Q1  Q2  C1V  C2V CP   C1  C2
V

57
Example: A capacitor of 0.2 F is connected in parallel
with a capacitor of 150 nF.

Solution: The total capacitance

C P  0.2  10 6  150  10 9  0.35F

58
 Capacitance
The same derivation can be extended to any
number of capacitors connected in parallel.
The total capacitance is simply the sum of all
the capacitors connected in parallel.
CP  C1  C2        CN

59
 Capacitance
6. Capacitors connected in series

The charge stored in each capacitor is the same

and equal to Q.
Q Q
V1  and V2 
1C 2C

60
 Capacitance
Q Q 1 1 C1  C2
V  V1  V2    Q(  )  Q( )
C1 C2 C1 C2 C1C2

Q C1C2
CS  
V C1  C2

The same derivation can be extended to any

number of capacitors connected in series
giving 1

1

1
  
1
CS C1 C2 CN

61
 Capacitance
Example: Find
(i) the total capacitance of the circuit shown
in Fig. 21

C1 C2 C3
12V
2.2 F 10F 0.1F

Fig. 21

62
 Capacitance
Solution:
(i) The total capacitance 1 1 1 1
  
CS 0.1  10 6 2.2  10 6 10 5

CS  0.095F

63
End

P.64